Improvement in sewing-needle cases



UNITED lSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES O. IVI-IITCOMB, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH DODIN, OF NEW YORK CITY.

lMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-NEEDLE CASES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,004, dated April l5, 1862.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES O. IVHITCOMB, of the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Sewing-Needle Cases; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of t-he construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, Figures l, 2, 3, and 4, making part of this specification.

Fig. l is a perspective view of the case, with its cap or cover C, att-ached by a hinge at 7, opened, showing the internal arrangement or construction. The body of the case is made of thin material nearly cylindrical in form. The bottom of the case is at right angles to its axis, while the top is made diagonal to its axis from r to e, Fig. 2, so that at the side at e the case is considerably longer than at r. It will be seen at i, Fig. 4, that a small portion of the cylinder is made fiat, and on the opposite side at d a still larger portion is also made flat. Inside the case, running parallel with it, and on the cylindrical portions are small grooves, into which the divisions B, Figs. l and 2, are fitted, every way parallel to each other and to the at portions of the case, forming compartments, to be appropriately numbered, into which the needles are placed, each of said compartments being of the respective size for its respective number or size needle which is to occupy it-that is, the compartment at the longest side of the case to receive the longest and largest needle and the compartment at the shortest side of the case to receive the smallest, which is the shortest needle, and the intermediate compartments to receive their respective intermediate size needles in numerical order. At O, Fig. 4, a small portion of the edge of the bottom is cut away, making a circular opening, which at t' is of the same width as the largest compartment, and gradually decreasing to S, the width of the smallest compartment. Fig. 3 is 'a plate which is nearly the shape of and attached to the bottom of the case by means of and turned on the pivot N.

At E is a notch, which, when set immediately under one of the compartments at O, will allow a single needle to drop out of the case.

The object of this invention is to enable persons using it to have the needles so arranged that any desired size may one at a time be extracted from the case at pleasure by simply inverting it and turning the plate, Fig. 3, so that the notch E will coincide with the compartment which contains it, then holding the case sidewise, so that the needles will fall to the side they are to pass out at; then again holding it upright and a vsingle needle will drop out.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A needle-case having a graduated series of compartments, substantially as described; also in combination therewith the plate, Fig. 3, attached to the bottom of the case and turning on the common center n and having the notch E, substantially as described.

J. O. IVHITCOMB.

\Vitnesses:

J AMES REYNOLDS, JOSEPH DODIN. 

